Illinois Budget 9.29.08

Monday

Sep 29, 2008 at 12:01 AMSep 29, 2008 at 11:26 PM

Illinois Budget 9.29.08

Here are the top Illinois stories coming today from GateHouse News Service. Stories are available at www.gatehousenewsservice.com. Please check www.gatehousenewsservice.com/regional_news/midwest/illinois/news in the evening for changes to story lineup, including breaking news.

If your paper has a story, digest item, opinion piece or standalone photo to share, please e-mail it to Illinois@gatehousemedia.com.

EMBARGOES: Please note that if a story has an embargo in the short story or editor’s note field, it cannot be published online or in print until that date. If you are unclear about an embargo note, please contact Casey Laughman.

GATEHOUSE NEWSROOM

Jean Hodges: Submit great photos to the news service. http://www.ghnewsroom.com/blogs.php?bid=240

TODAY’S SPOTLIGHT

Architect urged mint to employ good cents

SPRINGFIELD – Earl Wallace Henderson doesn’t give up easily. As a fledgling architect, “Wally” Henderson designed the restoration of the Old State Capitol in the 1960s, when skeptics said it couldn’t be done. Now, 40 years later, Henderson has triumphed again. Thanks to him, the building he saved will appear on millions of commemorative pennies due to be issued next year. By Bruce Rushton of the State Journal-Register.
http://www.gatehousenewsservice.com/regional_news/midwest/illinois/x436984276

STATE BRIEFS: News from around the state. POSTED.
http://www.gatehousenewsservice.com/regional_news/midwest/illinois/x1730707359

BAILOUT REAX: Contacting federal lawmakers to get their take on the financial bailout plan. By Adriana Colindres of the State Capitol bureau. Will be posted this evening.

IDOT changing planting strategy to avoid emerald ash borer

PEORIA – In an attempt to increase defense against the devastating emerald ash borer, the Illinois Department of Transportation has announced it no longer will plant ash trees as part of its landscape projects. By Erin Wood of the Peoria Journal Star.
http://www.gatehousenewsservice.com/regional_news/midwest/illinois/x436984273

Multi-state prostitution ring may have been centered in Illinois

SPRINGFIELD – A Pleasant Plains woman charged in federal court this week with participating in a multi-state prostitution network appears to have been at the center of the operation, according to court documents. By Jayette Bolinski of the State Journal-Register.
http://www.gatehousenewsservice.com/regional_news/midwest/illinois/x436984279

Schock paying back city may depend on Obama

PEORIA – State Rep. Aaron Schock's campaign manager said Friday that if U.S. Sen. Barack Obama's presidential campaign pays the local costs of police and fire protection during a visit to Springfield last month, then they might consider doing the same for Peoria. By John Sharp of the Peoria Journal Star.
http://www.gatehousenewsservice.com/regional_news/midwest/illinois/x345113611

ILLINOIS BUSINESS
http://www.gatehousenewsservice.com/regional_news/midwest/illinois_business

Housing slowdown hasn’t segued into renting boom

ROCKFORD – The housing boom from 2002 through early 2007 that lifted homeownership to historic levels had one clear casualty: the owners of rental properties. Now we're in a market that should put those apartment owners on top of their game again, but some owners of rental properties are saying that's not the case. By Alex Gary of the Rockford Register Star.
http://www.gatehousenewsservice.com/regional_news/midwest/illinois/x1730707273

Christian TV station falls victim to digital switch

ROCKFORD – A local Christian-based TV station will broadcast for the last time Tuesday, the victim of the federal mandate to broadcast only digital TV signals. By Sean F. Driscoll of the Rockford Register Star.
http://www.gatehousenewsservice.com/regional_news/midwest/illinois/x555997484

Textbook costs put students in a bind

Think college tuition costs are out of control? Consider college textbooks. "My books this semester cost close to $500," says Jerrica Thomas, a sophomore theater major at Bradley University. The book for a stage makeup class was $132 alone. By Pam Adams of the Peoria Journal Star.
http://www.gatehousenewsservice.com/regional_news/midwest/illinois/x555997479

Goodfield plant reverses fortunes, will add jobs

GOODFIELD – Instead of eliminating 200 jobs, a company that makes agricultural equipment plans to stay in Goodfield and double its workforce, a company official said Friday. By Steve Tarter of the Peoria Journal Star.
http://www.gatehousenewsservice.com/regional_news/midwest/illinois/x555997476

PEORIA – The last thing one would associate with the petite, vivacious woman with dark hair and twinkling eyes is a life-threatening disease. And the fact is, Catherine D'Souza is a healthy woman - today. But there is a sword hanging over her head because recently she tested positive for the gene mutation that causes both breast and ovarian cancer. By Catharine Schaidle of the Peoria Journal Star.
http://www.gatehousenewsservice.com/lifestyle/health/x459458474

Dinnertime is approaching, and you wonder what point of contention will cause the rugrats’ knock-down, drag-out fight tonight. Who gets the blue cup? Or whether one piece of carrot cake is a sliver bigger than the other? By Jessica Young of Suburban Life Publications.
http://www.gatehousenewsservice.com/regional_news/midwest/illinois_lifestyle/x459457477

$700 billion. Man, that's a big figure. To put it in perspective, if the government decided it had to bail out a number of extremely massive and obscenely wealthy Wall Street banks that you don't really know exist and have even less of an idea of how they operate, do you know how much it would cost? $700 billion. Yeah, I know. IT ROCKS YOUR FACE OFF.
http://www.gatehousenewsservice.com/regional_news/midwest/illinois/opinions/x583490979

Dave Bakke: Husband laid to rest inside wind chimes

After Galyn Ruyle died, his wife put him in a tree, where he hangs around all day and makes beautiful music. Galyn, as colorful a person as the small Macoupin County town of Nilwood ever produced, would have liked reading that.
http://www.gatehousenewsservice.com/regional_news/midwest/illinois/x506584314

Editorial: Take a simple approach to ethics reform

In February 2005, Comptroller Dan Hynes and a bipartisan group of lawmakers announced the Government Integrity Initiative — a package of legislation that would, among other things, prohibit holders of state contracts worth $25,000 or more from contributing to the campaigns of the official letting the contract. It took more than three years — until last week — to get a less stringent version of that original proposal onto the books. An editorial from the State Journal-Register.
http://www.gatehousenewsservice.com/regional_news/midwest/illinois/x506584311

Editorial: Utility hearings need to be open

Imagine if state’s attorneys, before scheduling a major criminal case in court, got to sit down with the judge and discuss why the charges against the defendant are warranted. There is no record of the content of the meeting, only a note that it occurred. An editorial from the State Journal-Register.
http://www.gatehousenewsservice.com/regional_news/midwest/illinois/x436984164

Editorial: New rate hike is a fair compromise

In case downstaters missed the news amid a crazy week on Wall Street, last week utility regulators approved a $162 million electricity and natural gas rate hike for Ameren Illinois. Customers of AmerenCILCO, AmerenCIPS and AmerenIP will notice very soon; the changes OK’d by the Illinois Commerce Commission (ICC) take effect Wednesday. An editorial from the Peoria Journal Star.
http://www.gatehousenewsservice.com/regional_news/midwest/illinois/x506584308

ILLINI: WITH THE ILLINI: Multi-sport notebook column led with football. By John Supinie. Moving this evening.

BEARS:

Matt Trowbridge: Bears come together as a team on goal line

CHICAGO – Wins don’t come much harder than being forced to stop three consecutive runs from just outside the 1. And then needing to get off the goal line yourself to run out the clock.
http://www.gatehousenewsservice.com/sports/pro/football/bears/x506584496

Never miss a story

Choose the plan that's right for you.
Digital access or digital and print delivery.